Summer has still got watery eyes and a runny nose. I gave her some allergy medicine this morning to help clear it up, but it hasn't helped much. Her little cheeks have been red since she got up from her nap. Partly due to a fall she had this morning where she landed face first into the rug. But, I thought she only got one side of the face with that fall. I did give her some Tylenol after her nap since she felt hot and her cheeks were so red. She is also complaining that her lip and nose hurt. Not sure if the skin is just raw from rubbing or what. I guess I am pretty lost right now, but I am just babying her and trying to make her as comfortable as possible. It is pretty good because she is really snuggly. I guess there is still good in sickness. Sometimes the best lovin' comes from sick little girls.

Time to watch a movie with her. I just wonder what she is gonna pick out for us....

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Yesterday Summer and I had an awesome walk/jog downtown. I pushed her in the stroller from one side of town to the other and back. We were gone about an hour so I really got a good workout. It was nice being outside. The weather was beautiful and I think we might have even been on the news last night. I know a cameraman recorded us coming up forth street and told me I made his day because he was looking for a shot for the weather. I assumed he meant for the evening news, but not sure. I wasn't home to watch anyway.

We went out for dinner followed by a trip to Cold Stone Creamery. Yummy. Summer wanted the blue ice cream, cotton candy, with sprinkles. I chose the cake batter with oreos. We both finished our bowls so you know it was yummy. Then we came home and she finished watching Barney's Pajama Party. Then she wanted to watch Care Bears Bedtime Stories which was pretty lame in my opinion. Maybe we can sneak that one out of the house. LOL

It was weird because last night she kept wanting to go to church. I tried to explain to her that it was Friday night and no one else would be there, but she still wanted to go. Not sure what was up with that. I told her she would be going on Sunday.

Today she is going to spend the night at Memaw and Nanny's house. I know she will have lots of fun. I just hope she isn't running a fever like it feels like she is. Last night her eyes were watery and itchy so I gave her a antihistamine. Then when she got up to pee at 3:25 she was very warm so I gave her some Ibuprofen and changed her into a t-shirt rather than the long sleeves and pants she had on. I guess I better get off her and check her temperature. Thank God we have moved up to the oral kind. LOL

She looks innocent enough...but really she is building block destroyer!!!

Another thumbsucker in the family!!!

I have been slacking on putting pics up. Mostly because I hardly ever use my laptop and that is where I keep my pics. But, today I grabbed the card and brought it with me to my desktop. :)

Summer is currently napping. No fuss today. She wet the bed again last night. That's two nights in a row. Yesterday she didn't get up until 9:45 so I didn't make too big a fuss. Just the normal no candy today punishment. Well, today she did it again and was up at 7:30 telling me her arm was hurting. I think this was to defray my attention from the wet bed, but I kissed the arm anyway and that was the last I heard about it. She already knew there would be no candy when I told her again this morning. No big deal I guess since she doesn't eat that much candy anyway. So, I am going to try something new. A chart with stickers!!! Doesn't that sound exciting. I talked to her about it before I put her down for her nap. She has to get 7 days in a row to get her surprise. We'll see how it goes. I know I printed one out, but I can't find it in the mess covering my desk. Hmmm....guess I'll have to make some new ones.

As for the surprise, I'm not sure what it will be yet. I did pick up three gifts today while going down the clearance aisles. They get me EVERY time! LOL One is a game rug which has a house with rooms for her to play with her dolls. I also got a 4 pack of Disney princess dress-up shoes. And last, but not least, a baby doll nursery set. It has a crib, changing table and something else. The best part is the crib rocks!!! I am super excited about this because I have been looking for a doll bed for a month or so. I might save it for her birthday, although I bought all her birthday presents before Christmas. I don't know which one the "grand prize" will be, but I'm sure I have at least a week or two to decided. :) Of course, I might just start off with a little microphone I bought. Yep, I am a sucker. The thing is she was with me during this trip and does NOT even know about any of the things I bought. Yep, I'm also that good!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Last night after we returned Lexie to Amanda, we went to the mall. First we ate at Applebees which was nice since we never eat there. Then I went shopping while Clint and Summer headed to the playground. I love how that works! So I wanted to head into Bath and Body, but they were closed. Not sure what was up with that. Then I went to Gymboree to check the sales. I got Summer a cute skirt and a shirt that says "semi-sweet". I also got two pairs of knee socks with little hearts and cupcakes. It was all so cute! I only paid $16 for everything so I felt pretty good. Plus, I gotta get out there and help boost the economy which is obviously in a slump. The toy store was going out of business so I stopped in there to rummage through what they had left. Which wasn't much. But, I did get Summer some activity pads and stuff for the airplane ride to Vegas. I got out of there only spending $9 so I felt pretty good about my purchases. Clint was ready to leave before I even made it out of the first store, but I guess not answering his texts bought me a little time. LOL. We stopped to get me some protein on the way out of the mall and it was the most expensive thing I bought all day. $40 + tax Oh well, it was worth it when I had my hot chocolate this morning. That particular protein is best as hot chocolate. Anyway, I am worth it.

When we got home, we went straight to the couch to watch Tinker Bell. It was a cute movie that I will try to see if she wants to watch again today so I can send it back for another. I just love Netflix!

I guess I better go get some breakfast ready. I have a feeling my two will be up in a few minutes. I can't believe it is 9:15 and they are both still in bed!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Summer threw a little (slight underestimation) tantrum this afternoon. She was on the balcony squirting water while Paw-Paw was out there. Well when he came in, I made her come in too because it was cold outside. She did NOT like that one bit! She started screaming and proceeded to scream while I changed Lexie's diaper and talked to Amanda on the phone. It was not pretty. So, I told her to go get in the bed and that I would come talk to her when she finished screaming. The screaming continued a while longer and finally she realized she had to stop to get me to come talk to her. It wasn't that hard to calm her down and get her to brush her teeth before getting into the bed. I just told her I would lay down with her for a little while and that apparently made everything all better. :) Thank goodness! She has been protesting nap time more and more, but I am standing firm. Naps are important!!!

Amanda called this morning to see if we would watch Lexie since she was at the emergency room with her boyfriend. I gladly agreed and Clint went to pick her up. She has been an angel all day. I wish I could say the same for Summer, but she did have that tantrum after which I explained to her that it was not an acceptable way to get what she wants. Hopefully she will take that to heart. Or is that too much to ask of a two and a half year old? Anyway, Lexie and Summer are both napping now. We will have to return Lexie this evening at some point since Amanda seems to want her back. I can't blame her though. She is such a little cutie. Puffy cheeks and all!!!

In the mean time, I think I will go check the mail and see if "Tinkerbell" has arrived. Summer is really looking forward to watching it. And so am I.

I woke up to a ground looking just as it did yesterday when I went to bed. :( It is times like this I really miss living on the mountain. But, not enough to move back. LOL Of course if Clint wanted to, then I am sure I would suck it up and move. :)

Summer is still in the bed. I was ready to go wake her up this morning and go outside and play. But, like I said. Nothing to play with except cold air. I guess we will go to the gym this morning and try to get home so I can go to a class at 12:00. Maybe I should go ahead and take some Ibuprofen now.

Monday, January 19, 2009

It won't be long until we make our journey across the country (via airplane of course) to the wonderful city of Las Vegas!!! It has been about two years since I have been there and that is a long time considering my inlaws live there. I can't wait to see everyone and of course play a little video poker. :) I am hoping I will be able to stick to my diet while I am out there. One thing I won't miss is the bread. It seems like the bread served at some restaurants in Vegas is hard and not very tasty. I don't think they have ever heard of yeast rolls. Anyway, I am looking forward to the trip and am anxious to start packing. I am one of those early packers. No last minute stuff for me unless you include stuffing phone chargers and make-up into the suitcase before you walk out the door. I am really excited for Summer to get to spend some time with her cousins. I think she will probably enjoy them and their toys!!!

She has been practicing telling the truth more and more. "Mommy, I'm gonna tell you the truth. And, I'm sorry." I know that means there is some sort of body waste in her panties. She has been doing really good about not peeing in the bed. She had a couple day streak of wetting the bed, but we may have it all sorted out now. It is crazy how many times kids seem to start relapsing. But, I know it is not just Summer. All my friends seem to be experiencing the same sort of issues on occasion with their kids. I am so glad to have so many friends with kids Summer's age. It makes me feel better about not having another kid because Summer has friends she can play with. Of course, all the girls that had babies the same year as me either have another one or one on the way. No pressure here though. LOL I get my fill of baby seeing my granddaughter. She is so sweet and innocent and very kissable!!! We got to spend the day with her yesterday. Hopefully we will see her again before we leave for Vegas, but if not it, I will be okay because her and Amanda are going with us.

Summer just came in here to tell me she had a good nap when she really did not sleep a wink but rather talked the whole 30 minutes she was in there. I haven't decided which way to go right now. Put her back in bed or let her stay up. After a quick verbal exchange with Clint, we decided he would put her back in bed. It is in all of our best interests if she gets the nap. I very rarely let her skip a nap unless we are out running around town. I can hear her protesting right now. "I don't want to take a nap!" Sob, sob, sob. Better now than tonight though.

Summer had her first Kindermusik class last Wednesday and she said it was her "best class ever." I was pretty amazed that she responded with those words when I asked her what she thought of it. She never ceases to amaze me. There is a workbook that goes along with the class that I guess I should look at sometime today so we can prepare for this week's class. Maybe we will spend some time on that tonight.

I have decided to hold off on gymnastics until the fall. I don't want to overwhelm her with too much at once. Or me for that matter. It seems like there are not enough hours in a day to get all the working out I need to do in. Or maybe I'm just not as motivated as I need to be. I guess I need to decide whether or not I really want to do this competition or not. Somethings are just easier said than done. If I do make it to the competition on June 14, it will be followed by a month at the beach. Of course, if I do not make the competion, I will still be going to the beach. So I'm not sure what that has to do with my decision to be in the contest. Probably nothing, but I just felt it was worth mentioning.

I have been trying to find the perfect house for us to rent and have just about settled on one in Clearwater, Florida. We have never been there, but it looks like it will be a nice place to go. It is close to Busch Gardens and even possibly we could go to Disney if we wanted. I know some friends and family will be coming down to visit us during our stay and I just can't wait for the vacation to start! A whole month at the beach. I hope we make lots of memories with Summer while we are there. I also hope she likes the sand this time. She has never really cared to walk in the sand when we were at the beach which has been many times. If she didn't mind the ocean that would be nice too, but I'd be happy just to see her playing in the sand. We will have our own private pool so maybe she'll turn into a fish while we are there. I am so, so excited! Wish we were leaving tomorrow! I am so fortunate to be able to do this. I am living proof that sometimes dreams do come true.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

I am trying to teach Summer not to lie. She seems to always lie when she wets her panties. Here's the play by play:

Me: Did you pee in your panties?

Summer: No

Me: Tell me the truth.

Summer: I didn't.

Me: If you lie to me, I'm going to spank you.

Summer: I didn't pee in my panties.

Me: I will not spank you if you tell the truth. Did you pee in your panties?

Summer: Yes ma'am. I did.

Okay, so that is the basic scenario, minus the part where I try to explain that it is okay to have accidents, but you have to tell Mommy about them. No spankings for the truth, only for lying.

So, obviously we are in the process of learning the truth from a lie. But, I'm not sure she really gets it. At lunch she was telling her pink kitty cat to tell the truth. Not sure what it was lying about....

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

This game is really popular in our family at times. Clint's sister Deborah LOVES to play dominos when she comes for a visit. We usually have to twist Clint's arm a little and he is always read to quit before us. :) I have some good memories from playing Dominos over my lifetime. I used to play with my mom too, although we played a different version than I do now. Now we play train dominos (or something like that). Well, Summer got some domino cards in a kid's meal somewhere. We have been playing with them for a while, matching up the ends correctly. Today we played a closer to real life version where we each took turns playing a card (domino). Summer is good at matching them. They only go up to 4 and there are only twelve cards total. It makes for a fun and quick game which also challenges her mind a little. Today I had her count the trains at the end of the game. It is amazing that something fun can also be so educational! Last night Amanda was going over some number flash cards with Summer. She loves to play with them too. Although, sometimes she is not in the mood to tell you the right numbers. Last night was one of them. I know she does not know all of her numbers, but she does know some of them and last night she didn't want to say them. Today though, we reset her clock in her bedroom and went over the numbers in the time. 8:46 She called the eight a zero. She did get the six right though. And when I turned it upside down, she said it was a nine. :) Not sure if Amanda had anything to do with teaching her that last night, but I hadn't heard her say that before last night. Then she said it again. It is so much fun watching her grow and learn, although it is a little frustrating when she pretends she doesn't know. I know it is just a little game she likes to play called "Test Mommy's Patience." LOL

Thank God for games!!! I have had some pretty good times playing games over the holidays with family and friends. I hope to play many more this year than I did last year. They add so much fun to life. When I am old and gray I want to look back at my life and be able to say what a great and fun life I have lived.

I have a hungry little girl on my arm, so I better go get her "some of Daddy's cereal with no milk." :)

Friday, January 2, 2009

Last night my sister's kids spent the night with us. We had an awesome lunch at my mom's on New Year's Day followed by games at the table. This time we played Yahtzee which I got my mom for Christmas. It was fun. I think my dad won the most games. When we left there, we (me and 5 kids) came back to the house to torture Clint while he worked. LOL I tried to keep the noise at a reasonable level and I don't think we actually bugged him too much. He didn't yell at us anyway. LOL The kids all slept in Summer's playroom. The girls on the futon and Jonathon on the Elmo couch. I didn't harass them too much when they stayed up talking after I put them to bed. I mean, I couldn't expect them all to just close their eyes and fall fast asleep. That would've been asking a lot from 2, 5, 6 & 7 year olds. I went to sleep shortly after I put them in the bed. Summer came in to ask me to read to them, but I was already undressed and under the covers. Leah ended up reading them a few books and then they went to sleep.

This morning the kids got up about 8:15. We ate breakfast and then got ready to go to the Creative Discovery Museum. That was followed by a healthy (at least for me) lunch at Fridays. I started my new diet today. I am not exactly sure what I am allowed to eat yet, but I am just going to wing it until I can make it to see my fitness advisers. I am writing down everything I eat. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with that without it being too much of a pain. I am already dreading thinking about dinner. Not sure what I have that I can eat, but I am sure I can find something healthy to cook. Let's hope I last for more than a week. :) My goal is to get in good enough shape to do a fitness competition in June although I actually doubt I will enter the competition. If I work hard though, I can have a "perfect" body for the summer. We'll see.

I better go check on the kids. I left them watching a movie in the living room. I wonder how many are still watching it.

I hope everyone's new year has started off as great as mine. I just hope I make it too the gym sometime today. I am having withdrawal. :)